The Mexican holiday known as "Cinco de
Mayo" is widely misconstrued in this country, even by people of Mexican
descent. Other people do not seem to care about the origin and cultural
significance of Cinco de Mayo, they simply see it as an opportunity to go
out and get drunk on Mexican beer at reduced prices. Despite its
commercialization, this holiday is of importance to many people.
This writing will attempt to clarify the meaning of this holiday and
return some significance to a day that has lost most of it to the advertisement
industry of this country.

The biggest
misconception about Cinco de Mayo is that it commemorates of México's Independence Day. That holiday is, in fact, celebrated on
September 16. On that date back in 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo issued a proclamation known as "El Grito de Dolores" that united the many
different rebellions going on against Spain into one cohesive struggle. México achieved its independence from Spanish rule in 1821. Cinco de Mayo is actually a commemoration of a victory by Mexican
troops in La Batalla de Puebla more that fifty years later, on May 5,
1862.

From the time of Mexican Independence in
1821 to the time of this battle in 1862, México suffered numerous
setbacks in its attempts to form a stable republic, and endured several
incursions into its sovereignty as an independent nation. Fifteen years
into its independence, Texas seceded from México. The Texas Revolt was
led by "American-Mexicans," Anglos who immigrated from the United States to México, promising to obey Mexican laws and respect Mexican traditions.
This revolt eventually led to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), a war
won by the U. S. As a result, México was forced to surrender
approximately half of its territory to the U. S. México, which had
never been financially stable, underwent a severe economic crisis during the
1850s.

President Benito Juárez inherited México's troubled political and financial situation, which included a
bankrupt Mexican treasury. As a result of these problems, President Juárez issued a moratorium in 1861 halting payments on Mexican foreign
debt. Much of this debt was owed to France. Shortly thereafter,
France sent troops to México to secure payment of its
debt.

At the time, the French Army of Napoleon
III was considered the premier army in the world. It had enjoyed recent
victories throughout Europe and Asia. The French expected to march form
the port city of Veracruz to Mexico City without encountering much
resistance. President Juárez sent troops, under the command of
General Ignacio Zaragosa, to Puebla to confront the French.
The Mexican troops consisted almost entirely of indigenous soldiers, much like
today. General Zaragosa's troops, outnumbered 4,700 to 5,200, were
severely under-equipped. La Batalla de Puebla raged on for two
hours, after which time the French were forced to retreat to Orizaba. Despite tremendous odds, the humble Mexican Army defeated
the most powerful fighting unit in the
world!

One year after La Batalla de
Puebla, the French brought in more troops and re-attacked. This time
they were able to make their way to Mexico City, take the capital, and install
Emperor Maximilian of Hapsburg as the reigning monarch of México.
Maximilian ruled México for about four years, until his execution in 1867
by troops loyal to President Juárez, who regained
power.

Although La Batalla de Puebla on Cinco de Mayo was rendered militarily insignificant by the French's
subsequent victory, it did inject the Mexican people with pride and patriotism
it had never before enjoyed. Since its independence from Spain in 1821, México had suffered one tragedy after another. La Batalla de
Puebla was the first time that the Mexican pueblo could rally around a
common cause and proudly proclaim, «¡Yo soy
Mexicano!»

Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated
in México to the same extent that it is by Chicanos in the U. S., mainly
because El 16 de septiembre is seen as the more important holiday.
The reason that Chicanos celebrated the holiday is that we appreciate its
cultural significance (victory in the face of great odds and the patriotism it
generated) more that its historical relevance. Also, General Ignacio
Zaragosa, the leader at La Batalla de Puebla, was born in Texas while
it was still part of México. For this reason, he is considered by
many to be the first Chicano hero. Some scholars, including José Antonio
Burciaga, believe that had the French defeated México at Puebla,
France would have aided the South in the American Civil War in order to free
Southern ports of the Union Blockade. During this time, Confederate
General Robert E. Lee was enjoying success, and French intervention could have
had an impact on the Civil War. It seems that even people not of Mexican
descent may also have an indirect reason to celebrate Cinco de
Mayo. Whatever the case may be, people should realize that this
holiday does have some historical and cultural significance to millions of
people and that not everyone considers it an excuse to go out and party.